The contribution of the Eco‐Management and Audit Scheme to the environmental performance of manufacturing organisations

Environmental management systems' effects on organisations' environmental performance are still an open issue. This study assesses the contribution of the Eco‐Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) to corporate environmental performance. The study also investigates the correlation between the environmental and economic performance of organisations. Environmental indicators were collected from 268 environmental statements of Italian manufacturing firms, while economic indicators were obtained from the Orbis database. After analysing around 5000 indicators, the results indicated a slight deterioration in some organisations' environmental performance and an improvement in the economic performance. No correlation was found between environmental and economic performance. Moreover, around 60% of the organisations are not fully compliant with the standard requirements linked to the environmental statements. The results question the positive effects of environmental management systems on environmental performance.